The Big Secret

I went to Minnesota and Wisconsin for the weekend.O.k. – I know some of you are disappointed with the big revelation, but it was really great. I went to visit my brother Lennie and surprise my parents. The only people who knew I was coming were Lennie and my Stepmom, Shari. The look on my Dad’s face was priceless. There I was sitting in the livingroom with Shari when he arrived home. He looked at me, then her, then back at me. I hugged him and he said, “Is everything o.k. with the marriage?” I laughed and said yes and he told me a lot of times when kids come home unexpectedly it’s because something is wrong with their marriage. My first thought was that he’s thinking of one of my brothers and my sister, who have both done that with him several times. I would never say that out loud though, except here. We had a great meal at the Outback , then went home to watch videos of the kids and chat until bedtime. The visit was short, but very sweet! Shari sent me home with Easter candy and new clothes for the kids. She even bought Benny and I two shirts each. She’s so awesome in the little things like that.

The next morning I surprised my Mom and Stepdad at breakfast. Lennie had arranged to meet them at a restaurant, and my Dad dropped me off just as they were going in the door. The shocked look on my mom’s face was so funny. I hugged her and gave her the bouquet of white tulips I bought for her, and she just stood there smiling, but completely dumbfounded. I loved it. What is it about me loving to surprise other people, but hating to be surprised myself? My brother Mike came with my niece Ayla(7) and my nephew Scotty(10), and my uncle Randy was there too. We all had a great breakfast laughing and joking about life and watching the kids play with their gifts I had brought for them. After breakfast we went back to Uncle Randy’s house to see Aunt Sharon. She is currently recovering from her second kidney transplant and she’s doing pretty well. It was nice to visit with everyone, and I was able to show them video of the kids too.

Backtracking a bit, my trip was intended for visiting Lennie. Surprising my parents was a nice bonus. I put the teaser on my blog because my mom reads it regularly now. 🙂 I was hoping to torture her a bit, then she never even asked about the secret! Oh well.

I had a wonderful time with my brother! I arrived in Minneapolis a little after midnight last Thursday and my luggage (1 suitcase) arrived Friday afternoon! Please explain to me how that happens on a straight flight??? Two other women didn’t get theirs either, but they were both from connecting flights. I don’t get it. One of the ladies, clearly a business woman, asked the unfriendly soul behind the claims counter where she might find a place to get some clothes for her meeting the next morning. Unfriendly lady said, “There’s a WalMart open 24 hours nearby but I wouldn’t recommend buying clothes there”. I laughed to myself because I knew that was our next stop so I could buy pajamas and a toothbrush, and a few other incidentals I needed before my suitcase would arrive. When the suitcase did arrive, they called to see if someone would be home from 1-5 pm so they could deliver it. Like we wanted to spend the whole afternoon waiting for them – we drove back to the airport to pick it up. The kid didn’t even ask for my ID, I offered to him. hmmmmm

Lennie and I went to the Mall of America to shop and hang out for a few hours. I’ve been there so many times that it’s lost some of the excitement for me, but we had fun anyway. We both love to people watch, and there were some fun shops to check out. We watched a guy making sushi, and played a game in a shop that zaps the last person to push the button. Yeah – that was me. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets, looked at swords and knives (so I could brag to Benny), and we laughed our butts off at a t-shirt shop. I found the perfect t-shirt for Benny. It was red with the Heinz logo on it and read, ” I put ketchup on ketchup”. Like a teenager, Lennie kept trying to nudge me hard enough to run into people. Fun times at the MOA! That night we met some of his friends at Benihana for supper. What a great meal. I had shrimp and actually liked it for the first time ever. I liked his friends a lot and I could tell they really love and respect him. What else did we do? Watched Tommy Boy, shopped at the most expensive grocery store in the world, and practiced tearing decks of playing cards in half. I’m up to 40 cards – not bad for a girl! 😉 He can tear 70 cards. ( If you’d like to try this at home, The Dollar Store has two decks for a buck.) He also ripped a license plate in half and rolled a small frying pan up like a burrito. I got it all on tape for proof. Yep, that’s what he does for fun…my martial arts, funny, strong, creative, nutty, younger brother. I had a blast with him!

My flight home was delayed for three hours, so I bought a book. I needed some lighter reading after finishing Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, so I bought and enjoyed reading Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I enjoyed it so much that I rented the movie when I got home. BIG MISTAKE. If you’ve read the book, don’t bother seeing the movie – they changed so many key points about the characters I was disappointed. I’m sure those of you who just watched the movie enjoyed it just fine, but I’m a reader and I’ve yet to like the movie better than the book. The ONLY ones that have come close, but still didn’t win me over to the movie side, were the LOTR trilogy and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The books were better, but the movies were really good too. I must admit that I have yet to read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility because it is my all-time favorite movie and I don’t want to ruin it. I’m really ridiculous like that sometimes. Love me anyway.

Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of a very long post. I had to catch you up, and I’m taking a blogging break until next weekend so I can catch up on Mt. Washmore and Mt. Dishmore, BSF, and getting us all on a routine. Benny did a great job while I was gone, but it’s amazing how much I’m needed around here! 😉 Job security – hehehe! 🙂 Bless you friend!